What Happened to America’s First Megacity?

In its prime, Cahokia was a prosperous city with a population similar to London’s. But this sprawling Native American metropolis from the Mississippian culture vanished long before Europeans arrived in North America. What happened?

This Indigenous city’s enigmatic rise and fall has inspired countless theories and has long captivated the imaginations of archaeologists. And now, cutting-edge scientific research offers a glimmer of hope in unraveling the mystery of Cahokia's disappearance.

Hosted by Joe Hanson from Be Smart, Overview uses stunning 4k drone footage to reveal the natural and human-made marvels shaping our planet--from a 10,000-foot view--literally.

Take an augmented reality tour of Cahokia courtesy of SA Creative:

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[margis.]

I had the privilege of being a member of the archaeological crew at Cahokia in the summer of 1973. We were uncovering the discoloration left by the buried bases of palisade logs. What an impressive city!

[FactsNotPropoganda]

Support PBS! This is just another example of why it’s so important and valuable! Cahokia is amazing to visit!

[kevinolive]

In 1904, 16 mounds were destroyed to build out St Louis Forest Park for the World’s Fair. St Louis used to have a nick name of mound city because of all the mounds which is hard to believe given that there are is just one mound remaining on the StL side of the Mississippi

[mchervino]

Equally impressive is Cahokia’s influence over much of the eastern woodlands, as a whole. A robust economy thrived around Cahokia that extended for 100s of miles in all directions. I live near a few prehistoric mines containing materials relished and heavily utilized by Cahokians. A fascinating ecosystem, indeed!

[ExceptionalLibra]

I'm from Blytheville, Arkansas. My town runs along the levee for the Mississippi River. Those mounds are everywhere.

[ellenchavez]

I'm from Illinois and found Cahokia when my son and I did a "See Illinois" tour during spring break. The visitor's center is really well done and very informative. Artifacts from the Gulf and Northern Mexico have been found, indicating trade along the Mississippi River. You can see the St. Louis arch from the top of Monk's Mound on a clear day. It is a World Heritage site.

[alexrayoalv]

My pet peeve is that artists renderings of Mississippian sites always depict the mounds as green and covered in lawn. Very anachronistic. The grass that the state parks sow everywhere is of European origin, for one thing, and according to Pauketat the mounds would have been dark colored, even black.

[MsSherrick]

Thank you for diving into Cahokia, and our misunderstandings about indigenous people here in the Americas! I moved to St Louis from Colorado 2 years ago, and have been deep diving into the topic since. My education on the history of the land I live on was so terrible, and I feel obligated to fill in those gaps as an adult. Having the opportunity to walk the mounds weekly is something I will never take for granted. Todays local news is that one of the 2 last houses remaining on the last St. Louis side mounds is being given back to the Osage people once the inhabitant dies or moves out. (she has been there 71 years!) The erasure of the mounds has devastated me, and I am delighted to hear the right thing happening, even if it is at this late date.

[danielsprehe]

The unfortunate part is the 4 lane highway (and random residential house) smack dab in the middle of a world heritage site.

[DougGrinbergs]

Excellent production, much appreciated!👍 Good info to update Wikipedia articles.

[eleanorligon]

Went there a couple years ago, it’s truly amazing. Pictures and videos don’t do it justice, walking around there it’s just mind blowing how large this city was.

[jessieg]

Our 8th grade field trip was to drive from Kansas City to STL to see this place. Didn't grasp how big of a deal this place was back then. Definitely do now.

[Eric-mfeo]

I am an archaeology student and I participated in an excavation at this site for a month. So glad it's being given the recognition it deserves.

[iiiixlure]

Hello, I'm from Saudi Arabia. I'm very interested in world cultures. I have a great passion for learning more about human cultures. Recently, I've been studying North American cultures. The Mississippians, in particular, have caught my attention. What I want to say is that people usually only pay attention to famous civilizations like the Maya, Inca, Aztec, and Almec in the Americas. But I would like to tell them that there are many more cultures that need to be reconsidered. Thank you.

[debries]

8:13 I get that it's evocative illustration, but it's weird to show horses when talking about pre-Columbus native Americans.

[godisgooey]

So wonderful to see the true story of North America before European contact being told. Wonderful graphics depicting what this amazing society could have looked like.

[greentravels]

Interesting background and updates regarding the magnetometer surveys; exciting to see the hidden world below. I've been here once or twice on my visits to the St Louis area; there was a sense of awe and reverence while walking around. Knowing that such a huge civilization was here long before Europeans was quite impressive.

[bathraxgrimtoad]

It's the first time I ear about such big cities in Mississipi. We all know gigantic Aztec and Maya places, but it's very rare to ear about North-America past civilizations. Thank you very much for this episode.

[generubinaudio]

Excellent short video on a site that I have always been fascinated with. Thank you PBS.

[grantmosal]

The St. Louis arch should not be a national park, but Cahokia absolutely should be.